


belief

by cosmicpoet



Series: momoharu week 2018 [3]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 07:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14280225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicpoet/pseuds/cosmicpoet
Summary: Momota wants to prove to Harukawa that he believes in her. His idea of doing that is taking her on a definitely-not-date. (Which is totally a date.)





	belief

Everyone feels betrayed, disgusted, overwhelmed – at least, that’s what Ouma wants them to feel. That must have been his end goal, when he revealed Harukawa’s true talent right when they were all raw after Toujou’s trial; the whole academy was a fresh wound, and Ouma was just the salt that kept being rubbed in. But not Momota, he doesn’t hate her. If anything, he’s confused.

Confused because…to him, she’s still a good person. And he doesn’t understand his own reasoning, but a swell of faith mulls in his chest, lifting him beyond everyone else’s preconceptions; and with it comes a yearning to understand her. Surely Harukawa – _Harumaki –_ barely five foot four, quiet, reserved…she couldn’t be a killer. At least, not voluntarily. Momota knows nothing of her childhood, but there’s an aged sadness in her eyes that tunes him into the thought that it was not a happy one. Surely there’s an explanation for this. Surely there’s a reason for her to be the Ultimate Assassin.

And he will believe in that unknown reason until his dying breath, even if he finds himself choking under her well-trained hands.

But, to his mind, there does not exist a problem which cannot be solved by enough determination, and thinking outside of the box is his specialty, so he refuses to sit in his room wallowing in his own confusion for any longer. Instead, he traipses down the hallway, silently – aware of the late hour – until he finds the door to Iruma’s room and knocks four times.

“Whadd’ya want, Hoe-mota? You jackin’ off in bed thinkin’ about me and you wanted to come and get some of the real deal?”

“Don’t be vile, Iruma.”

Immediately, she pulls her shirt over her breasts and her face falls.

“No,” Momota says, fearing that he’s offended her, “not that you’re not pretty. You’re really beautiful. I just…I’m not interested in you…that way.”

“O-Oh,” Iruma says, still crestfallen, “t-then why…are you here?”

“I wanted to ask a favour?”

She perks up.

“A sexual favour?”

“No. But…can I come in?”

“A boy in my room après midnight, eh? And you say you’re not into me!”

“Really, Iruma…please.”

“F-Fine,” she says, looking sad again. Momota finds himself bemused at how she can so quickly switch from aggression to depression. But still, girls have always confused him a little…that’s why he’s here.

“I want you to build something for me…if that’s okay.”

“And why would I do that for you?”

“I…dunno. ‘Cause you’re my friend?”

“Your…f-friend?”

“Yeah. You might be dirty-mouthed and full-on, but you’re pretty cool.”

“O-Oh. T-Thank you.”

Iruma shuts the door behind them both.

“So,” she says, “what did you want me to build?”

“Y’know those arcade machines you get at carnivals and stuff? The ones where you shoot shit and win teddy bears. I thought we could make one of those, y’know? Make everyone happy. And I kinda wanna impress someone, so…”

“That’s easy! I’ll have it done in an hour. Hold on, I should have some stuff in my room to make it.”

“I got some teddy bears from the MonoMono machine that we could use as prizes.”

“Cool,” Iruma says, “thanks…Momota.”

“You not callin’ me Hoe-mota anymore?”

“Nah…I guess you’re cool too.”

Momota lies down on her bed whilst she gets to work. For a few minutes, he just listens to the metallic clash of Iruma getting out her supplies, and he genuinely feels impressed with her talent. Sure, he’s always loved his own talent, but…he’s never _been_ to space. She’s always been able to create wonderful things. It’s not like he has a crush on her or anything, that’s saved for…someone else. But he’d like to be her friend.

“Yo, Iruma,” he says, “why’d you do it?”

“Hm?” Iruma replies, a screwdriver held between her teeth.

“Y’know, the whole sexual thing. Even if it’s reciprocated, I imagine you’d be pretty uncomfortable with that.”

“What,” she takes the screwdriver out of her mouth, “are you implying?”

“Nothin’. Just…there’s obviously more to you.”

“What’s it mean to you?”

“We’re friends, right?”

“Oh. Yeah. Friends.”

“So go on…pinky promise I won’t tell.”

“Ugh, fine. It’s hard for a girl to get by in this world…especially in a masculine job like inventing…unless she’s got something else to offer. And the only other thing I have is…myself.”

“You shouldn’t devalue yourself like that, y’know? You can get by on your inventions alone. You even say it yourself…you’re a genius. So don’t rest on your sexuality to get the attention you deserve, I guess. What would I know, though? Ask Tenko…I’m just a degenerate male, haha.”

“You’re pretty nice, Momota. I thought you were just a macho bastard, but you’re kinda sweet. You’ve not got an ulterior motive, right? You don’t want…you know…”

“Nah, don’t worry. I’ve got my sights set on someone else. Besides, just ‘cause you flaunt your sexuality doesn’t mean you deserve to be taken advantage of.”

“Sexuality, huh?”

“What about it?”

“I don’t even…never mind,” Iruma says, and when Momota looks at her, she’s blushing bright red and turning away.

“Go on, you can say it. I kinda guessed anyway. You’re a…”

“A lesbian?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Fully qualified homosexual right here. Don’t you dare tell anyone, though,” she points the screwdriver at him.

“I won’t tell if you don’t.”

“Wait…you’re gay?”

“Bi, actually.”

“Sweet. So who’s this mystery person you want to impress?”

“Harumaki.”

“Wait…the Ultimate Assassin bitch?”

“Hey! Don’t call her that.”

“R-Right…sorry,” Iruma says, “guess I switched back into my default personality there.”

“It’s chill. Don’t worry. You’ve still got a long way to go, but I believe in you.”

“But still, why the hell do you wanna impress her? She could, like… _kill_ you.”

“Nah, she won’t. She’s nice, y’know? I wanna get to know her. The real her.”

“Go for it.”

“What?” Momota says, a little taken aback; he’d expected that she’d protest more.

“You should…while you have the chance. Any moment in this goddamn hellscape…someone could be taken from you. So do it. You’re alive, she’s alive. Just fucking try.”

“That sounds…personal. It was Akamatsu, right?”

“How’d you know?”

“I saw how you looked at her. Like she was…different.”

“She was. Special…I mean. Good. She was…a really good person.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry, Iruma. You…you deserved a chance.”

“Fuck it, right? Gotta keep living on, anyway. That’s the kinda shit you’d say, isn’t it?”

“I guess you know me pretty well.”

“Anyway,” Iruma says, “I’ve finished your arcade machine. I’ll set it up outside later. Go get your girl, Momota. While you still have the chance.”

“Thanks,” he replies, as he closes her door. Walking down the corridor, his confusion about Harukawa has dissipated a little, only to be replaced by confusion about Iruma. She’s more than she lets on, and it’s tragic that he’s met her in this kind of situation – were they anywhere else, Momota feels that they would be good friends.

Back in his room, his mind floods once more with Harukawa, and he falls into a restless sleep; his last coherent thought is that he needs to get her out of her room in the morning to prove to her that she’s not the monster Ouma is desperate to convince everyone she is.

In the morning, he thinks about her as he’s getting ready. Her beautiful face; above all, he just wants to see how she lights up when she smiles, how she must laugh – she _must_ have laughed at some point in her life. There’s something so intrinsically wonderful about her, and his fists clench at the thought that people don’t – no, they _refuse –_ to see it, just because of her talent. He couldn’t care less that she’s the Ultimate Assassin. And he needs to prove it.

Outside of her room, he almost hesitates, but decides against anything that would prevent him from doing what he came here to do. Sharply, he knocks on her door, and waits for the response.

“Go away,” he hears her say from inside.

“No,” he replies, “not until you come out.”

“I’m staying in here.”

“Then I’m staying out here. And be warned, I’ll start singing. You _really_ don’t want to hear that.”

“Go _away.”_

“I can’t do that, Harumaki.”

“You just want to get one up on me so I won’t kill you. I know you – I know _all_ of you. You want to disarm me or hurt me or kill me. Just leave me alone.”

“No, that’s not it! I just…look Harumaki, I don’t care what Ouma or anyone says. You’re not a bad person.”

“Momota, I’ve _killed_ people before. You don’t want to associate with me. Just go…let everyone keep thinking you’re a good person.”

“No way. Because listen…you’re in a killing game. The whole purpose here is to kill someone. And you…you haven’t laid a finger on anyone with harmful intent.”

“I tried to strangle Ouma.”

“We’ve all wanted to do that at some point. All I’m sayin’ is…you’re an assassin, right? So you’d know how to kill someone without a trace. If you wanted to, you could have killed someone before your talent was revealed, and we wouldn’t have been able to figure it out. You could have got out of here easily. But you didn’t. Harumaki…you _didn’t.”_

“And?”

“And that proves that you’re a good person in my eyes.”

“Well…you’re wrong…idiot.”

“You might think I’m wrong, but it’s not gonna hurt to come out of your room. How about we make a deal?”

“A deal?”

“If you spend one hour with me, and I can’t convince you that I believe you’re a good person, then I’ll never bother you again.”

“And if I don’t agree to this?”

“Then I guess I’ll be sitting out here until you have to come out for food or somethin’. Either way, I’m not leaving you to deal with all this alone, Harumaki.”

“Why are you so… _persistent?”_

“Because I _care_ about you!”

Her door opens a crack.

“Don’t say that,” she says, a little sadly, “don’t put yourself through that. If you’re so insistent, I’ll come to wherever you want to go for an hour, but don’t…don’t put yourself through that.”

“Listen. I want to get to know you. Not Harukawa Maki, Ultimate Child Caregiver…or Harukawa Maki, Ultimate Assassin. I want to get to know _you…_ Harumaki.”

“Whatever. But I’ll come…if you’re so desperate.”

“I’ll call that a victory,” he says, reaching for her hand through the door and bringing her outside, “and I’ve asked Iruma to whip up somethin’ real special for you.”

“You…have? God, Momota, why go to so much effort?”

“To show you that you’re worth it.”

“Fuck,” she says, “I can’t believe I’m doing this. You need to understand that I’m not a good person. I’m exactly what Ouma says I am…a murderer…a liar.”

“We all lie, Harumaki.”

“Do we all murder people?”

“In here…I don’t think that makes any difference.”

“Fine,” she tells him, “where are we going?”

“I asked Iruma to make us an arcade game! Y’know, like the ones on beaches and piers when you were a kid?”

“I wouldn’t know,” she says sadly, “I never went to one.”

“Oh,” he replies, a little awkwardly, “well…now’s your chance! I’m gonna win you a teddy bear!”

“How did you even get teddy bears in that thing?”

“I bought some from the MonoMono machine to use as prizes!”

“So…you’re telling me…you bought things and now you’re going to pay to win them back?”

“I guess so. But you’re missing the fun of it!”

“I doubt it’s going to be _fun,_ but then again…what would I know of fun?”

“I’ll show you, Harumaki. I’ll show you that life can be good.”

“You believe in yourself a little too much,” she mutters, but he doesn’t catch it.

As they arrive at Iruma’s wonderfully crafted arcade, Momota drags Harukawa towards it at a faster pace than they were originally walking at, taking her a little by surprise. The booth has targets behind it, and there’s a homemade pellet gun, which Momota assumes is to shoot the targets with. A line of teddy bears – the same ones he bought – hang from the booth, and Iruma sits behind it, looking smug as she shows off her own creation.

“Step right up, fuckers,” she says, flashing Momota a kind smile when Harukawa isn’t looking, “and win a prize for the _love of your life.”_

Momota blushes as he picks up the gun.

“Hey, Harumaki,” he says, “I’m gonna win you that huge teddy bear up there.”

“Sure,” she says, although she sounds happier now than she did before.

He shoots, and misses, prompting a laugh from Iruma.

“Damn it,” he says, “let me try again.”

Ten more tries, and he’s exhausted his pockets of monocoins. Feeling defeated, he looks desperately at Iruma, but before she can say anything, Harukawa takes the gun from his hands. In one shot, she shoots the hardest target down.

Reluctantly, Iruma hands her the biggest teddy bear.

“No fair,” Iruma says, “I _totally_ rigged this game to be like, impossible to win!”

As Momota stutters in disbelief, Harukawa sighs.

“That’s not fair,” he says, “but whatever. How the hell did you win, Harumaki?”

“I’m an assassin,” she replies bluntly, “I’m used to playing on unfair ground.”

“But look,” he tells her, “you just used your skills, and nobody got hurt. When we get out of here, I’ll take you to every beach carnival there is, and we’ll put your pinpoint gun accuracy to a better use, yeah?”

“So,” Iruma laughs, “a successful date then?”

Before Momota can protest that it wasn’t a date, Harukawa laughs.

“Yeah,” she says, “I guess it was.”

Looking at her watch, she shows Momota the time. Almost an hour has passed.

“I’ll uphold my end of the deal,” he says, “and I’ll leave you alone now. Let me at least walk you back to your room.”

“Or,” she replies, “we could go and get some food. I…don’t want this to end just yet.”

As they walk off into the distance, Momota puts his hand in his pocket and feels Harukawa do the same, as she folds her fingers around his palm. They’re holding hands, and he has never felt anything more beautiful than this. Harukawa…Harumaki…the girl who deserves the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Here's Day Three of Momoharu Week, and the prompt was 'First Date'. I hope you liked this - please comment if you did!


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